


Forgiveness? I think not.

by Jjosiah98



Series: Runaway AU [3]
Category: How to Train Your Dragon (Movies)
Genre: Dragons Adopt Hiccup, Dragons love Hiccup, Mentions of Suicidal Thoughts, Other, Protective Toothless (How to Train Your Dragon), Runaway AU, protective dragons
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-16
Updated: 2020-12-16
Packaged: 2021-03-11 05:00:44
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,244
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28109727
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Jjosiah98/pseuds/Jjosiah98
Summary: The Murderous Tribe has finally arrived on Berk, and they have no dragons to show.
Relationships: Gobber the Belch & Hiccup Horrendous Haddock III, Hiccup Horrendous Haddock III & Dragons, Hiccup Horrendous Haddock III & Toothless
Series: Runaway AU [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2051571
Comments: 8
Kudos: 159





	Forgiveness? I think not.

**Author's Note:**

> Am I missing tags? Probably. Let me know if I am! Also, I am aware that in the books, Madguts doesn't actually speak. For this, it was just smoother to have him talk, so he does.

_Hiccup,_

_I'm sorry. I'm sorry for what I said to you, I'm sorry for what the village and your father put you through. I know I don't deserve your forgiveness, and I don't blame you for not wanting to forgive me._

_Stoick had received word that the Murderous Tribe was coming for a visit to learn about our peace with the dragons, and in order to protect you, he had us all swear to help him make you the smallest possible target on Berk._

_I know this doesn't excuse our - my - actions against you, but I thought you should know why we all started doing what we did. Now, I know I have no right to ask, and you have no reason to come, but if we don't have our Dragon Master or dragons here to show when they arrive, Berk will be going to war._

_I hope you will again come save us from our ignorance, but I won't blame you if you don't._

_I'm sorry,_

_Uncle Gobber_

\- - - -

Stoick was standing on the docks, and if he wasn't so good at being stoic, he would be sweating bullets. The Murderous Tribe had finally arrived in their harbor, and they had no dragons to show them. After Hiccup had run off a month and a half prior, they had no luck in taming any wild dragons. According to Fishlegs, they seemed to be avoiding the island. He would have sent our search parties for Hiccup, but dragons could outpace their boats by too great a distance for it to be possible to find him in time.

He had thought for sure his plan would work. It was simple, really. Just make Hiccup the smallest, easiest to overlook target on Berk by the time the other tribe arrived to avoid him getting captured or killed. Then when they left, everything could go back to normal. He knew it wouldn't be easy, for the villagers or Hiccup, but he didn't think it would have ended with Hiccup nearly killing him. Who knew he could throw an axe so well?

And now they were here, guaranteed to go to war with a tribe known for their ruthlessness because Hiccup hadn't come back. He would worry if something had happened to him, but the boy had an entire flock of dragons protecting him, and Berk had more pressing worries to deal with. Madguts the Murderous walked down the plank and up the dock, stopping a short distance from Stoick, some of his men coming down to join him. Behind Stoick, the dragon riders, Spitelout and Gobber were standing with the rest of the village standing farther back, watching.

"'Ello, Stoick."

"Madguts."

"I do hope you know why we're here."

"To see the dragons."

"Yes. But I'm not seeing any dragons. Are you, men?"

"No."

"Nope."

"No, sir."

"Not a single one in sight."

Madguts looked at his crew, nodding in approval before looking up the cliffs and surrounding sky. Then he looked back at Stoick.

"When I heard the raids stopped, and Berk here was responsible for it, I was impressed. Then I hear you making nice with the beasts, using them to gather food and build houses, and just had to see it for myself."

A scowl forms on the mans face.

"I don't like bein' lied to, Stoick."

Before Stoick can even try coming up with a good excuse, a distinct shriek fills the air.

"Night Fury!"

"Get down!"

"Hiccup?"

While the Murderous crew ducks, the Berkians are looking around wildly for their runaway heir, who lands Toothless on the docks between the two tribes with a heavy thump, facing Madguts. A handful of other dragons all landed on open perches on the surrounding cliffs warily watching all the humans around them.

"Sorry I'm late, but I figured a dramatic entrance would spice things up."

Stoick wasn't sure if he wanted to smack the boy or hug him. Slowly, the other tribe looked up, staring at the boy and dragon in shock. Madguts was the first to speak up.

"That's a Night Fury..."

Hiccup smiled, sliding of the Toothless' back.

"Yep. Toothless, this is Madguts, Chief of the Murderous Tribe. Madguts, this is Toothless, my best friend."

After a moment of staring, he directed his gaze to Hiccup.

"Why 'Toothless'?"

In answer, Toothless opened his mouth, teeth retracted.

"What? Why wouldn't a dragon have-"

Several sharp teeth shot out.

"Teeth. Retractable teeth, huh? Interesting..."

"Yeah, that's the first really noticeable thing I found out about him, and the name just kind of stuck. Would you like to meet some of the other dragons?"

Madguts nodded.

"Certainly. Lead the way."

Smiling again, Hiccup and Toothless turned around, walking up the docks. Stoick's group, which had been silent until then, was forced to step to the side as the duo and following guests followed him. Stoick fell into step with his son.

"Hiccup-"

"Not now. We have guests."

The harsh look he received was enough to get him to pause. Reluctantly, he nodded, knowing Hiccup likely had some kind of plan for showing off the dragons. Although he was wondering how Hiccup knew that the other tribe was visiting, since he had made everyone swear to secrecy. As soon as the Murderous Tribe was gone, he was going to have a long talk with his son.

\- - - -

The demonstrations all went smoothly, if the lack of stab happy Vikings was anything to go by. It took a bit of effort at first, as it did with the Berkians, but they came around.

"Good. Now, hold out your hand and turn your head away."

"What?! It'll just bite my hand off!"

"No he wont. Trust is something all dragons value. Show them your trust, and they will return the favor."

"That why you made us drop our weapons?"

"Yes. You have to show the dragon you mean no harm, and trust them not to hurt you. In return, they will give you their trust and allow you to start bonding with them."

Madguts, of course, was the first to give this a go. Being the type of person he is, Hiccup decided to let him practice with Hookfang. None of his flock was actually going to be leaving with the visitors, since they all wanted to stay with him on Dragons Edge, so he was going to show them all the basics he could for when they went back to their island.

\---

"Dragons are afraid of eels?"

"Not quite afraid, but yes. Eels are poisonous to most dragons, causing them to hallucinate and get extremely sick if eaten."

"Huh. How did no one learn about that before?"

"Probably because everyone was more focused on 'stab with a pointy thing'."

"And this grass here, what's it do exactly?"

"It's called 'Dragon Nip', and it has a calming effect on dragons. Just rub it on their nose and it'll put them into a short bliss coma."

With some grass in hand, Madguts reached over and practically stuck the stuff up Meatlug's nose. In seconds, she was on her side, eyes blown and purring up a storm. The look on the Chiefs face was priceless.

\---

"Are you the only one who rides a dragon?"

"At the moment, yes. Riding a dragon is all about trust, much like what we did before. If a dragon lets you on their back, they are trusting you not to hurt them, just as you are trusting them not to drop you while flying."

"Seems like that would be hard to do with nothing to hold on too."

"Yeah, which is why I've been coming up with saddle designs. Each person and dragon is different, so you have to be able to adjust everything to make it more comfortable for both dragon and rider."

The teens, who had been tagging along, shifted at Hiccup saying he was the only rider. He ignored them, but knew what they were probably thinking. They must have thought that since he was back with the dragons, they were going to stay. He wanted to snort at the notion, but had guests to teach.

\---

"Dear Odin!"

"You need to relax!"

"How do you expect me to do that?! Look how far away the ground is!"

"I know, but tensing up won't help anything! The dragon can sense it, and is responding in kind. You need to relax, and move with the dragon! Trust them!"

Slowly, Madguts did as instructed. His white knuckled grip on the saddle loosened, and he let himself lean back. Hookfang, noting the changes, followed suit, moving into an easy glide. The chief laughed triumphantly.

"Haha!"

"That's more like it. Don't worry, the more you do it, the easier it gets."

"I'll take your word on that. Now, how do you steer?"

As they did simple loops around the island, Hiccup demonstrated proper riding techniques to the chief, and had to stop him from attempting an adrenaline-fulled flight through a maze of sea stacks. When all was said and done and they were back on the ground, Madguts was grinning like a madman. Hiccup was slightly wary of that look, but took it as a good sign.

\---

"So he's a Night Fury, then?"

"Yep. Only one we know of, but after I get things settled with Berk, I want to try finding more. He deserves more company of his own kind."

Toothless, feeling a very odd mixture of annoyance, surprise, and love, decided to react appropriately. By giving a snort, giving Hiccup a big slobbery lick over his face, and nuzzling him into the ground to pin him so he could say he didn't need another Night Fury so long as he had Hiccup.

"Uh...is he alright?"

"Just fine."

"Okay...are you alright?"

"Yep. I'm use to getting crushed by several ton dragons by now."

Toothless snorted again, wiggling down more.

"Ok, bud, let me up. We still have more to do."

As usual, shoving at the dragon proved pointless. Instead, the dragon snapped his jaws open and snatched Hiccups hands, trapping them inside his mouth. Hiccup sighed.

"Go ahead and get lunch. He's probably going to be like this for a while."

Stoick, who had been listening nearby, didn't like the way Hiccup said 'settle things with Berk'. To the visiting chief, it probably didn't seem like anything special, but to him, it sounded more like a desire to cut ties. He turned away with a frown, wondering what was going through that boys head.

\- - - -

Hiccup gave a pleased sigh as he watched the boats sail off from the cliffs, the early morning light dancing off the ocean. It had been an exhausting week of teaching the Murderous Tribe about dragons, but he was happy to have changed more minds about them. Who knew it would be the people that were known for their killing that changed so easily?

"They were a lot more peasant than I thought they'd be."

**"With the name 'Murderous', you'd think they'd be a lot more insane and stab-happy."**

"Yep. Though appearances aren't everything, as I've come to learn with you guys."

**"Happy to help."**

"I know, bud. Thank you."

Hiccup wrapped his arms as much as he could around the dragons neck, who in turn raised a foreleg and wrapped it around Hiccup's back, using his head to complete the hug. Then a cough interrupted them. Pulling apart, they looked at Stoick, who was standing a short distance away from them with the rest of the village.

"Hiccup, we need to talk."

"Really? I don't think there's anything to talk about."

"What? Hiccup, you ran away after almost killing me!"

"Yeah, and?"

A few gasps were heard from the crowd, and Stoick all but froze. Everyone knew that Hiccup was a kind, forgiving person, who didn't hold grudges. So for him to not apologize was quite the shock.

"Hiccup, you will apologize this instant and come back to the house so we can continue this in private."

"No."

Stoick, who had started to turn away, froze again. Slowly, he looked back.

"What?"

"I said no. Why the hell should I apologize, exactly? I did nothing wrong."

"Nothing wrong? Nothing wrong?! Hiccup, you-"

"And what did you do, Stoick? What reason did you give me to react that way?"

"I was protecting you!"

"By making me want to kill myself?!"

Stoick froze again, shock replacing anger.

"You all made my life a living hell! You took away everything that had some semblance of meaning to me, every reason I had to stick around and keep going! Then you tried to take Toothless from me! The most important thing in my life! My other half! If you had succeeded, I can guarantee you would have had a funeral to prepare the next morning."

Hiccup started pacing, Toothless looming behind him as silent intimidation. The other dragons who had come with him also flocked over, landing next to Toothless and glaring at the offending Vikings, mostly Stoick and the other riders.

"Why should I apologize when you aren't even going to bother?! Why should I stick around people who would so willingly turned on me, treated me like trash? I see no reason to forgive you if you can't even be bothered to ask for it."

"Look, Hiccup, I'm-"

"No your not. You're just saying that because it's what I want to hear. The only one who I'm willing to forgive is Gobber, because he did what your pride refuses to let you do. In fact, you should all be thanking him, because if he hadn't told me what was going on, I wouldn't have come back at all!"

As the others processed this, Astrid stepped up.

"Then why did you come back if not for us?"

"Simple. It was for the dragons."

As the confused look he got, he sighed.

"When the war ended and news spread that Berk was allied with the dragons, it presented a symbol. One of the prospect of peace, of the possibility of having dragons as friends instead of enemies or trophies. If I hadn't come back, that image would have been ruined, and more people would still be hunting the dragons. I couldn't let that happen."

"Hiccup, we're your people! How could you not care about us?"

"The same way you never cared about me. Gobber is the only exception to that rule. And Gothi, since she would always patch me up after you guys had your fun."

Shrugging, Hiccup turned and swiftly mounted Toothless, who prepared to take off.

"Don't try and stop me unless you want this place burned to the ground by angry dragons. I have no place here, and you sure as hell can't convince me to stay either, not after what you willingly put me through. Come on, bud. Lets get my stuff so we can leave."

With one last warning growl, the duo shot for their former house, the other dragons flying around them and keeping an eye on the humans should they try something, but it proved to be pointless. No one came to try and stop them, and any that got close were quickly shoved away by the dragons, who were in full protection mode. By mid-afternoon, they were all gathered at the forests edge.

"You guys all say your goodbyes?"

The dragons nodded.

"Good. Lets stop by the cove to grab my forge stuff, then we can head back to the Edge."

The dragons nodded, and they headed for the reclusive location. Though when they went to land, the found someone already there. Instantly, a few dragons landed and started hissing.

"No, no, it's alright. He's good."

Toothless landed, and Hiccup jumped off.

"I'm sorry, Hiccup. I shouldn't have gone along with your fath- I mean, Stoick."

"I won't say its alright, Gobber. I wasn't lying when I said I was ready to die. The dragons are the only reason why I'm still here."

"I know, laddie. And you have every right not to forgive me, and you didn't have any reason to come back to help us. I just hope that...you'll give me a second chance. I understand if you don't, you-"

"I get it, Gobber. And maybe some day, but...not yet. It's still a little too soon."

"I understand."

"Although...maybe I could leave a little parting gift?"

When Gobber looked up, confused, Hiccup smiled and whistled. A moment later, Forge dropped down and landed Gobber's head.

"Forge! I missed ya, you wee beastie."

"I figured that you might need an extra claw to help out around the forge, since I'm not gonna be here."

Gobber just waved him off.

"It's alright, laddie. I can't ask you to stay. But are any of the other dragons staying?"

"I asked them, and they all said no. So congratulations, you'll have the only dragon in the village!"

"Well, that certainly is a privilege, isn't it Forge?"

He scratched the dragon under the chin, getting some purrs in response.

"Yep. Now if you'll excuse me, I'll just be...getting my things."

Hiccup quickly walked over to where his basket was hidden, making sure all of it's contents were there before picking it up and strapping it to Stormfly.

"You're an excellent blacksmith, Hiccup. I'm sorry I ever said otherwise."

The boy paused for a moment, looking over his shoulder.

"...Thanks, Gobber. That means a lot."

With one final tug to secure the ropes, Hiccup nodded to himself and climbed on Toothless. With a small wave, the dragons took to the air, headed northeast to their new home.

Gobber watched them go with a sigh.

"I'll make it up to you, Hiccup. I swear it."

\- - - -

If Hiccup could describe his time since leaving Berk with one word, it would be exciting. After finishing the main base, which had only taken a few months to his surprise, he and the dragons took to exploring the area, making a new map of the lands. They found an abandoned ship with the Dragon Eye on it, met the Grimborn brothers and had, and still have, several skrimishes with them for the dragons, met several new speices of dragons and befriended them, and met other dragon friendly people like the Defenders of the Wing and the Wingmaidens. He's also been happier than he's ever been before.

He and Gobber were also regularly sending each other letters after about half a year of silence, keeping the other informed about their daily lives. Gobber told him about how Berk was doing, he told Gobber how he was handling the Hunters. He would also send materials, like the new 'Dragon Iron' Gronkles could make for the man to work with, and Gobber would send back various supplies for him to use, mostly medical things from Gothi that only Berk had. It was a nice system, if he was honest.

No Berkians had found his island yet, though he has spotted some Berk ships in the area. Gobber said that Stoick was trying to hunt him down. Hiccup just shook his head at that notion. If he did manage to find the Edge, he was going to have to fight to get Hiccup to leave with him.

As Hiccup rested outside the clubhouse, looking over the ocean with Toothless and the others around him, he couldn't help but smile. He was with the ones that he could call his own, and he couldn't be happier for it.


End file.
